Thursday, November 02, 2006

I'm ashamed to admit it but I am a lemon bar snob. I'm not proud of it. Well, maybe the word snob is a bit harsh. Let's just say that I have very strong preferences when it comes to lemon bars.

I prefer a delicate, buttery crust with a slight "snap" to it. And the crust should never be more than half the overall height of the lemon bar. I don't want to chew endlessly on an overly thick and, inevitably, tough crust. Or even worse, mash my way through the gummy mess of an underdone crust.

I prefer a dominant lemon flavor untainted by the milkiness of cream, evaporated or condensed milk. It should be just tart enough to make my mouth pucker a teeny bit. Don't get me wrong. A creamy lemon confection has its place in my dessert kingdom, but not in the form of lemon bars. Sorry, milk, but tart is king.

I prefer my lemon filling to be smooth and soft, but not runny. When the filling hits my tongue it should be luscious. Overcooking the filling will turn the lemon bar into a sponge. No one wants to eat a lemon flavored sponge, least of all me.

I prefer my lemon bars dusted with confectioners' sugar. But not so heavily dusted that exhaling will shower the table (or your neighbor) with sugar.

And finally, I prefer to eat my lemon bars with a fork. That's not snobbish, is it?

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.

To make crust:Combine flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Add butter and pulse until the mixture is pebbly. Press evenly into the bottom of your prepared pan. Bake until lightly golden, about 18-20 minutes. Set aside crust.

To make filling:In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Whisk in lemon zest and juice until well combined. Pour over crust (it's okay if crust is still hot). Bake until filling is just set, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely before serving. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

* Note: I use meyer lemons (because we have a tree in our garden). Meyer lemons are less tart than the Eureka lemons found in the supermarket.

I adore lemon bars and yours lookperfect! I think there would be a lot of people in the lemon bar snob club! Yes, indeedy--and we would eat yours at each meeting. (I know what I'll dream about tonight.)

Mary, I too like them exactly as you describe. And, rarely eat them because of all the disappointment over the years of failed expectations. THANK YOU for sharing and posting this, I will make your recipe and thank you profusely again later.

Thanks! These are the best lemon bars I've ever made -- made them today, using white whole wheat flour for the crust, and adding a ts. of vanilla bean paste to the lemon curd layer because I've been jonesing for vanilla-lemon flavour. By far the best Lemon Bar recipe I've tried, so this is going into my "keeper" file.

Love your blog, and damned if I know how I'm going to keep from gaining 20 pounds or so by spring now that I've started coming here.

Wow you sure know what you want in a lemon square :) This looks like a delicious recipe (plus, it's healthier than choco desserts). I'm excited to try it out asap! I'm out of ingredients atm, dyou think it would be alright if I subs. unsalted w/ salted butter? And is confectioners' sugar finer than superfine sugar?Thanks. Mary, your blog is <3

As a lemon bar lover, I have been looking for better recipes than the ones I have been making (none quite right), and this one is perfect, even without Meyer lemons! Thanks! Can't wait to look at more of your recipes.

Fatima - It's okay to use salted butter instead of unsalted. Just be sure to leave out the salt listed in the recipe. And confectioner's sugar is much finer than superfine. It also called powdered or icing sugar.

Dear sweet lord, I had no idea I was in such good company. You've listed all my preferences and peeves, and not only that, you've given me a recipe that honors my snobbery. I'm in love. They're baking right now.

Tell me: what are your thoughts on lemon curd? I've made it before, with good results, could probably eat a bowlful of the stuff if I didn't watch myself...

Thank you for sharing your recipe. I made this recipe, and everyone loved these lemon bars! You should have issued a warning, though, saying how completely addictive they are. This recipe is now in my permanent book. Thanks again! Lisa

i just made this a few hours ago &they came out so well :)at first i made a mistake and used a long pan...so i started over in a smaller pan...but i broke up the crust from the 'mistake' batch and im servin them as cookies :) i dusted the pieces with powdered sugar. so good !

i was also surprised that my barsactually came out lookin like yours in the picture :) haha

I made this recipe today and the entire pan was finished very quickly. My neices absolutely loved them! I added a cup of coconut, so they weren't really for lemon bar purists, but very delicious. Thanks for the perfect recipe, I'm sure I will be making these again very soon.

Tonight I made lemon bars using a recipe similar to yours - only it was a shortbread crust instead. It was my first time making lemon squares and everyone raved over them. Someone even told me they could rival a local bakery around town, known for it's sweets. Now I am inspired to know there is a club for lemon squares lovers. I can't wait to experiment with the recipe.

I followed the recipe to the letter (including the meyer lemons!) and the crust was a hair too thick for my taste. It was as thick as the filling. Other than that, the taste was spot on - tart and sweet, but not too sweet. Thanks for the recipe, and the photos on your blog are just lovely!

Yes, there is too much crust for this size pan - however, this was sooo good I ate it while is was still warm. I used the Meyer lemon for the first time and it was awesome!! I don't think I will ever use the traditional grocery store lemons again. Meyer's are more delicate and have their own unique fragrance.

Anon 3/18/08 & Anon 4/5/08 - I bake these a lot and my crust is never more than half the overall height. My pan is an 8x8 inch metal pan with straight sides and non-rounded corners. I'm glad you liked the lemon bars even though the crust was too thick. And I love Meyer lemons too!

It's interesting to hear everyone's experience with the recipe. Someone else just made the lemon bars and she told me her crust was too thin. =)

4/30/08 -- lime juice shouldn't do anything--I baked these today and used a mix of lime and lemon. :) The egg yolks are what gives the lemon bar colour, more or less. :> If all else fails, use food colouring!

OMG these were the most DELICIOUS things I have ever managed to bake and not STUFF UP!!!!!!! Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe........FYI my daughters (4yrs & 9yrs) loved them just as much as I did!!!

Hello--I'm trying to reach you to request permission to link to your recipe (and share a photo) for our Handmade Holidays on the Sew,Mama,Sew! blog. I couldn't find your contact information (though it is late!). Would you mind emailing so I can give you the details? We love your recipe and would like to share it with our readers.

I made these last night and I loved them, except love is not a strong enough word to describe how I feel about these lemon bars. They are wonderful. I have to admit that we couldn't wait for them to cool completely and I like them a little warm. The only complaint I have is that they are so good an 8x8 pan is just not enough. I was going to bring them to work today, but they are already half gone! Next time a double batch for sure.

I have a batch of these in the oven while I am typing this. I first made this recipe for my new sweetie, for our second date. It is Thanksgiving morning and I am set to meet his family for the first time. (Yikes...wish me luck). When I asked what I could bring, his first response was "those lemon bars". Guess he liked them as much as I do. Thank you so much for sharing your delicious recipe. The crust is what sets these far above any other lemon bars I've ever made/ate.

I just found your blog and your recipe and found both of them wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to share your recipes and you're right - the Lemon Bars are fabulous. I threw a bit of the rind into the food processor and ground that up in the crust as well as using the zest in the filling - terrific. Thanks and I can't wait to try your other recipes.

Mary, these lemon bars are absolute perfection!!! I made them last night. They were so easy and much better than the meyer lemon tart I made recently. Mine don't look as perfect as yours (I think because I couldn't wait for them to cool before cutting into them). Also, I used Earth Balance (yes, a travesty I realize, but I am allergic to dairy). The combination of the tender slightly browned crust with the velvety lemon top makes my knees weak with every bite! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Also, I doubled the recipe because I didn't have an 8 x 8 in pan (only a larger one). I used the food processor to grind down the regular sugar that I had and this seemed to work beautifully. All this and still amazing! :)

Exquisite!! I made them for a birthday party and the crust had the most wonderful buttery flavour. I did have to double the lemon filling though, but everything still turned out perfect. Thanks for the recipe!

Me and my friend found your recipe and it was very easy to make. And it was DELICIOUSEEE!! it is really good with the powdered sugar. it makes it even sweeter. :) Thanksss!! my mom was surprised that i can cookk haa

This is exactly the same as my recipe. Im the biggest lemon lover, i love any and everything lemon even more when i was pregnant. I found a recipe for lemon bars not knowing what it was but tried it anyways because anything that has lemons as the main ingredient is a fan of mine. I made it and then made it every saturday ever sice lol. i didnt think that anyone else would like them because like you said, i also love mines tart with just enough sweetness to level it out, and a buttery crust that has a snap to it but arent hard as a rock neither will crumble before you put it in your mouth as i learned to perfect it after couple trials. Everyone loves them, everyone i was surprised and now everyone is bringing me lemons and sugar( because this does require alot of sugar)begging me to make them!

WOW!!!! Im new at baking and i have loving and eating lemons since i was 4, so far my fav dessert is lemon meringue pie and ive heard so much about lemon bars, im like the biggest lemon head ever. u described them exactly how i would like to try them and i cant wait, im just starts a foods class and mabye if all works out i can bring some in, BTW THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH

I was super excited about these lemon bars, but I guess I will have to practice a few more times to get them right. I followed the recipe but they were still very gooey and they stuck to the pan. Can’t figure out what went wrong….

I too have a Meyer lemon bush in my backyard. This is my first time making lemon bars, I used your recipe but I add a good deal more zest because I still have quite a bit in the freezer. My favorite meyer lemon recipe is lemonade but these bars are a very close second.http://bakingcirclefriends.blogspot.com/

Hi Mary, I just wanted to let you know that you've been a huge inspiration for me. I've followed you for years and eagerly checked your blog for new posts. Thank you!http://umamitreats.blogspot.com/2010/01/lemon-bars.htmlsincerely,nancy

Anonymous on 10/24/2010: Superfine/bakers' sugar in the US is a grind that is finer than granulated table sugar. I think it's also called caster sugar. Powdered/confectioners/icing sugar cannot be used for the filling part of the recipe.

I loved your description of this lemon bad and had to try it, they turned out amazing! I did have a little trouble with the crusts sticking though,despite liberal pan-spray, does anyone have any advice?

hi, i just made this recipe-with a few changes...i added an extra egg yolk, 1 tbs flour,and 1/4 cup lemon juice, and subtracted 1/4 sugar. i too love my lemon bars ultra lemony and really dislike a strong 'eggy' flavor...this is my first time making them-they did not come out as i imagined they would!! the filling soaked through the crust making it very soft...when i flipped it over the curd had cooked in a thin layer at the bottom!! they actually taste AMAZING, but are obviously not right...do you have any suggestions??

I am making a second round from this recipe after requests from my friends kept coming in for me to bring a tray for our potluck this week. I am using Meyer lemons from the tree in my yard, and couldn't imagine the bars without them!

Lindsay, the recipe will not turn out if you make "a few changes". Your changes were big changes! Try making the recipe exactly as written first. They might turn out to be what you imagined them to be! :)

I used to make your lemon bars (like six years ago!) and then I moved, and life happened, and I forgot about them -- and I never wrote the recipe down! I'm soooo happy to have come across this recipe again. Hands down, the best lemon bars I've ever had, still, to this day. Can't wait to make them for Thanksgiving!

In the 15 years I have been baking I have never found a lemon bar recipe that I have been completely satisfied, until now that is. The first time I made this recipe (the only change was 1+1/2 for the filling) I ate the entire pan before my boyfriend even got to try one, and as soon as he came over we made and ate another entire batch! This is the BEST bar recipe I have ever come across. The next time made them for a party, I made them in a 9X13 glass pan with the proper conversions AND I used parchment which I had not the first few times, and the composition of the crust was changed entirely. It was almost as if buttering the glass dish without parchment gives the shortening crust a snap, whereas using parchment made it less crisp with almost an extra thin gooey, tough layer. Would you imagine this was from the parchment because the conversion was perfect and the rest of the bar composition was great? Either way this recipe is ADDICTIVE!!!��

The alpine strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is a cousin of the wild strawberry. It's sometimes simply referred to as alpineberry. I love to bake, cook and garden. My blog is a place to share my recipes and other tiny tidbits of my life.